Kelly Starrett is one of the top Crossfit coaches in the world, and one of my favorite PTs and performance trainers. His clients include Olympic gold medalists, Tour de France cyclists, world and national record holders in Olympic lifting and powerlifting, Crossfit Games medalists, ballet dancers, and elite military personnel. If you’re interested in taking your body or brain to the next level, or attempting to become the guy from Limitless, this episode is for you.

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Comment Rules: Remember what Fonzie was like? Cool. That’s how we’re gonna be — cool. Critical is fine, but if you’re rude, we’ll delete your stuff. Please do not put your URL in the comment text and please use your PERSONAL name or initials and not your business name, as the latter comes off like spam. Have fun and thanks for adding to the conversation! (Thanks to Brian Oberkirch for the inspiration)

I liked the podcast. I noticed several years ago contact lenses block UV light. All the contacts I have say they block UV. What are the potential consequences of depriving your eye, retina and brain from UV light? I am a chiropractor, I do ART, and functional movement assessments, so I am tune to nervous system issues and movement pattern evaluations. Sitting, forward head position are white collar epidemics, loss of peristaltic function, heartburn, diminished lung capacity, low movement through the C spine deprives the brain of motion, and allows for more aberrant pain signalling, high pain means brain deterioration… low motion equals low BDNF and other brain derived neuro levels and the entire house of cards starts to fall in. Discs need manganese, and soft beds are good for back sleepers but not belly sleepers. Love the Janda reference, spot on.

Keep those podcast going, that’s really geat. I’m still working on the transcript of episode #2 (it’s a hella longer to do than i thought) and Josh was so full of crazy useful insights and tips that i’d actually pay to listen to podcasts like that. Sort of like “insiders” into the best minds out there. Great great stuff, thanks

I don’t think i’ll do the transcript for the #1 or #3, though (unless i feel like throwing a challenge at myself), will you get someone to do that? It’s great for taking notes and remembering important parts…

Can you kind of provide updates on transcripts.I would appreciate a place where I can check on the transcripts being posted. Since I would not subscribe to any podcasts which it is no use to me because I am deaf. So I would appreciate on your next podcast making a mention on transcripts so that I can keep up and track. I will subscribe to iTunes as soon the transcripts become available just to give my support for your subscriber counts although it have no use to me.

Great cast. I’m not sure how your other listeners react to you long pod casts but these seem to be difficult to find a block of time for listening. It may make sense to repurpose or chop up these into segments or some other method of spreading content across multiple times.

I listened to it at multiple times also. And how you absorb content is likely far different than you avg. listener (i.e. you’re more likely to listen to the whole thing). But how many actually listen to the whole thing?

I’m sure you may find some value in testing multiple ways to present this content. If you consider performing a test, I would recommend ‘length’ begin a priority variable.

Or, if lengthy content is not going to change, then maybe providing incentive to listen ‘intently’ to the entire cast: e.g. best content at the end, or learn about this awesome {cool thing} at the half way point.

@Kevin: I Disagree. Just press the pause button and listen to them in separate chunks. -> Long podcasts are great. They are the only way to get deeper into the interviewee’s mind and exctract higher value (vs some more superficial interviews). Tim, keep them long! KR – Nic

That was the answer I was looking for. I love what you do. You and your guests continue to inspire me, but I wasn’t looking forward to that intervention announcement in a few years. I had to give up drinking about 3 years ago ’cause I’m one of those . . . how you say . . alcoholics. The best / only decision for me to remain on this wheel. You do get a smidge emotional with the hint of a slur sometimes though. No judgement. Just a fan.

Excellent podcast. Kelly kind of takes over, which was okay because I am a huge fan of his. I really enjoyed Dr. Justin Mager’s viewpoints, so I would of really loved to hear more from him.

With regards to rolling on a Lax ball or foam rolling, what should pressure be like? I see from mobility WOD videos that Kelly likes to make people squirm and maybe believes in the no-pain no-gain approach. Are there any cons from attacking the soft tissue with very hard pressure? Does light-medium pressure on a consistent basis have more benefits than hard pressure on a consistent basis? Should the number of sessions that you perform correlate to the amount of pressure/discomfort you are feeling from the soft tissue work?

Yes, Adam. The latest research in the last 5 years has been moving away from the idea that rolling on a foam roller should be painful, ie ITB. The fascia CAN be damaged. Better to use a rolling stick. Light pressure consistently will yield benefit.

Tim! I’m loving every second of your podcasts keep up the great work! I have a question for you: What would you suggest for someone wanting to take their fitness level from great to the best? I’m going to be rowing in college next year and I would love you opinion on how I could really excel!

Amazing informations Tim!
Your podcasts just turned out to be the best for someone who spends a lots of time on the road.
Looking forward for the transcripts too. As I am not a native english speaker I tend to miss a few specific information.

Any links for this one. You mentioned a few books as well as where do I get a cheap oxygen sensor for before my workouts. Another great podcast keep it up. Also audio is good, no reason to apologize for the dog upstairs. We can’t here it.

Hey Tim, great podcast and big thanks for keeping traditional methods out as much as possible. For 12 years, I’ve been recovering from a C1, C4-C5 spinal core injury and thalamic stroke due to the trauma of the accident. This injury basically turned me into an anatomy guru simply because there was no other way to get back on my feet. Ultimately, this has lead me to see the regulatory pressures MDs, therapists and patients are faced with, as well as confront the legitimacy of the Canadian Healthcare System on long-term issues of chronic illnesses and injuries being 15 years old at the time of the injury, (”wait.. isn’t the system public in Canada…, wrong”). Now, I advocate and engage in public speaking for families living with life-limiting injuries or illnesses. Despite being a full quadriplegic at one point in life and the ongoing rehab/training to this day (“as anyone should with or without injury”), I was fortunate to make it back on a Snowboard. I’m not going to lie, it’s pretty fucking awesome! That being said and please allowed me to say this last thing; it’s truly “out of the box” MD thinkers and therapist, positive and realistic coaching methods and new technologies which allow many beat the odds. Dr. Mager, Kelly Starrett and yourself are so right. We must consistently rethink our traditional ways and must reinforce our daily modern life habits as are entering one hell of a healthcare crisis. Our biomechanics patterns are so mess up, that also includes mine btw! PS: I’ll be in SanFransico at the end of May. I will definitely checkout Kelly’s Crossfit gym. Maybe, I’ll be lucky bump into him. TBD! Thanks again for the podcast.
Cheers, Eric

The podcast was great, but Kelly gave some inaccurate info about the DCML being a pathway for movement and pain. It is a purely sensory track, and is resonsible for light touch, proprioception, and vibration. Sensory tracks carry ascending input while motor tracks (primarily the corticospinal tract) carry the output from the brain to the muscle for movement, so while you need both for a feedback loop, it is not part of our physiology to carry motor and sensory information on the same track. Pain is a multifaceted problem that has many different theories, but the only track I’m aware of to be shown in the central modulation of pain is the spinomesencephalic track. I hope this doesn’t come off the wrong way because I think Kelly is an awesome coach and contributor to th field, my intent was to clear up th neuroscience if anyone had any interest or wanted to explore this further.

Why doesn’t Dr. Mager have a book? Tell Dr. Mager to get on it! I want to hear more about what he has to say, very sad that many doctors (and the majority of the ones I go to) treat the extremes like you guys were talking about.

For me that was the compelling Tim Ferriss Podcast (Tim-Tim Talk-Talk) to date – Thanks Tim.

Many of the subjects discussed fuelled my thoughts regarding the health issues that present in my life and disconnect often sensed between the isolated markers MD’s use to diagnose and treat versus what I share about my context, my lifestyle and individual experience.

According to my frequent blood tests my total cholesterol has been increasing gradually over the last 10 years, and in the last year or so seems to have stabilised between 8.6-8.9mmol/l (320-345mg/dl). All the MD’s I see keep telling me based on my blood results that I have a very real 20% higher chance of having a stroke given I am a 39 year old man. Where this totally scares me (I know people who have had a stroke), it’s not the complete story.

A comment Dr. Mager made around 19 minutes into your podcast really perked my interest – that there is literature that suggests if you have high LDL cholesterol you can build more lean body mass.

The part of my story that MD’s care little for is that I am now the strongest and leanest I have ever been in my entire life. Since mid 2012 when my cholesterol hit the highest reading, I have gained approx 10kgs, most of it lean muscle – I recover quicker than ever despite increased volume, and have remained training injury free.

The approach MD’s have taken to dealing with my high total cholesterol is to implore I take Statin medications. Years ago I did this, and it basically made my muscles sore to the point that I was constantly in pain and unable to train – further it didn’t measurably reduce my Total Cholesterol.

Part of me is terrified by what the MD’s tell me, but taking medication would mean having to stop the active, healthy lifestyle I love.

You discuss cholesterol in the 4HB, and I was curious if since writing the book you could offer even more insight. Perhaps this very topic would make for a great future Podcast!

WOW, this was an absolutely awesome podcast. So so so much information in here I’m gonna have to listen to it a few times. Love the wine drinking throughout too, it makes the whole podcast feel relaxed, friendly and approachable with loads of jokey banter. Definitely going to be looking up more on Kelly & Justin, these guys and their knowledge intrigue the hell out of me. Am I right in saying Tim did a CreativeLive with Kelly? I’m so watching that if that’s the case. Thanks again for the awesome chatter Tim!

I’d love to hear more information about mattresses from you, Kelly, or Justin.

I never paid attention to mattresses until I visited Japan. I slept better than usual there. I think it was because of the hard sleeping surfaces. I slept in multiple locations, all with hard mattresses/futons, and slept well every night, so I don’t think it was due to some other factor.

I now want to replace my Ikea mattress at home with a futon (e.g. from Tuft and Needle).

So I was interested when Kelly or Justin suggested the opposite: a very soft mattress. I definitely do those weird cross-legged positions when I lie down.

Tim I’m a fan of your work. The mic’ing of the wine pouring during your podcasts is lame and pompous. Very distracting too. Just saying others way love it but makes me want to stop listening. Other than that keep up the good work.

Tim,
If you listen there are several times where the liquid pouring is so loud I think I was splashed. Check it out. Also, cursing amongst friends sounds different than it does on a podcast. It doesn’t add anything (especially when mixed with drinking wine).

BUT… the podcast was awesome. You and your guests have so many interesting and insightful ideas and comments that it sets my mind whirring. Kelly was a star, Justin was terrific too. I don’t mind 2 hour podcasts at all, I just listen while driving or, today, while on an exercise bike.

After listening to episode 2, I bought Josh Waitzkin’s book. Enjoying that too.

Hey Tim this is Joe from Costa Rica , I just want to say your books have inspired me and changed my life. I Love this article and it was your book that started me on the path to travelling abroad and now I am doing it full time ! Thanks again

Thank you, Tim for taking on this endeavour (books, blog, and now these podcasts). I learn and laugh a lot. Couldn’t be better! I am a celiac and use my university position (PhD in CS) to look into all kinds of studies to optimise/fix my body. Blood work is sooo expensive here in Europe and I keep fighting my Danish GP for having blood work done, but she gatekeeps by telling me “you look healthy, so no need.” Where would you get bloodwork done in EU?

Thank you Tim for taking on this endeavour (books, blog, and now these podcasts). I learn and laugh a lot. Couldn’t be better!

I am a celiac and use my university position (PhD in CS) to look into all kinds of studies to optimise/fix my body. Blood work is sooo expensive here in Europe and I keep fighting my Danish GP for having blood work done, but she gatekeeps by telling me “you look healthy, so no need.” Where would you get bloodwork done in EU?

I can’t wait to be listening to the 500th Tim Ferriss Show! Please don’t stray away from the long format and wine, it offers a greater human aspect. Plus the longer the episode the more knowledge gained. A video version would also be cool. If i could make a request for special guests John Romaniello, and Dave Asprey. I selfishly want a listener Q&A show, like lots of them, with a panel preferably. Here’s to hoping to ask the greatest mentors questions that I need answering. Also for future podcasts an awesome format would be to let the readers know who is going to be the next guest and if they are any question that they would want you to ask for us. Then you could cherry-pick the good ones.

I prefer having Tim and the expert, I think a panel would be worse. I really enjoy seeing something when I listen to something so I agree about having video. Also, you gain more from video due to body language etc which I think is important as well. He still is afraid to talk to girls. Sorry Tim, I couldn’t resist. 🙂

The 3way thing worked really well. When talking about topics rather than people it’s definitely the way to go, when possible. When talking about people, or their specific approach to topics, the 1on1 works great.

Keep it up, dude. Would like to see some people who write fiction or film scripts on this.

Maybe you find / found it fun but, as your collective blood alcohol level increased, the group IQ level decreased. By the 50 minute mark, you guys become less coherent individually and collectively. There are more collisions, crashes, and dropped balls. It starts to sound a lot like college kid podcasts.

At the 70 minute mark, it’s becoming a bit sad. Here are three intelligent guys with valuable knowledge and insight to share with me but their awareness is being dulled by alcohol. Their ability to articulate something fully and clearly is diminishing. Their willingness to let another complete a thought is diminishing.

The alcohol’s effect on the reward center of their brains corrupts their judgement in the moment. But it may also cloud their judgement about the recording after the fact because of the retroactive association of pleasure with the memory of the recording session.

I really appreciate your work — I own two of your books in hardcover. I appreciate the free content like the website and podcasts. This podcast is free so I have little basis for grievance but I feel a bit deprived.

I am sad to say I agree. The first hour was revelatory, but I tried 3x to make it through to the end. Finally gave up with 30 min remaining…every time the wine would glug, I’d cringe and brace for devolution. I’m behind in catching up with the early podcasts, so I’m hoping there aren’t many more drunk ones to come. Still, the first hour was totally worth it’s weight in podcasts. Tim is my hero.

No one seems to like stretching or taking preventative measures to ensure their safety. HOWEVER, Starrett’s book is full of pictures. That will make it easy on those intimidated by the book’s large size. My squat routines, which used to be torture, are now enjoyable because I continue to progress in my flexibility. It’s motivating. Def buy this book.

This book is a game changer. More importantly, it comes packed with endless pictures, so don’t be intimidated by it’s size. Starrett did a great job of providing the reader with a bible for proper form that applies 24 hours/day. I enjoy my squat routine much more now because of the progress I’m making in flexibility. Great form is now a top priority, alongside strength and performance. Def a must read.

Signed up and listened to them all now…really enjoying them, please keep them coming. How about the odd bit more on yourself? How you work, how it was filming your tv show, what didn’t make it into your books…alot of it’s been covered on your blog but i bet a bit more would come out in conversation! (Esp. re: injury, it was interesting in this podcast + it’s the chapter i read repeatedly in 4hb, seems to be a hot topic…what works, what doesn’t, how you evaluate a treatment to determine effectiveness…)
Also: make sure the audio quality is super clear throughout the whole session, it really makes a difference as to whether i want (or can) to listen to a podcast or not.

Hi Tim
I love your podcast. Keep up the good work! One thing, I dearly missed were links to the books that were mentioned during the podcast. Especially, one was very hard to get sth. like “Talcoat” by Daniel Coil. I tried to find sth with a similiar name at amazon but was not successful. Could you please let us know the correct title and author? The book is mentioned around minute 52 in the podcast.
Many thanks!
Greetings from Switzerland

Some constructive criticism: I just listened to all three podcasts, was most excited for this one, but ended up being pretty disappointed. I think the drinking had a big effect on this, and may be partly due to having three people instead of two. You had some brilliant guys on and I feel like we could have gotten a lot more out of it if everyone was focused. You can tell as it goes on that people interrupt each other more, talk over each other, go off on random tangents more often and generally make it difficult to follow one thread. Also (and it could just be audio quality) but when everyone collectively has a loud drunken laugh it is really annoying when you’re wearing headphones.

I like to drink with friends and have crazy conversations too, but I don’t record them for other people to listen to. Some drinking gives a fun atmosphere but I think it can easily go too far and kind of ruin the work. In general I think there was some really good information in here, but I think it could be better without the drinking.

Great show Tim! Really interested in your take on the sedentary lifestyle. Any specific tips for those that have a long commute and/or work in an office? Specifically any little hacks we can do to counter the long hours sitting?

just downloaded your first three podcasts, really loved them. They’ve been an excellent companion for longer morning commutes this week. Your interviewing style is thoughtful and natural, which makes for educational and easy listening. Kudos on being able to balance your stories with those of the guests – lots of other hosts should take note.

I wondered if there was a way for you to post a list of any books that were mentioned during the podcasts. Always looking for new things to read and don’t often have hands free to write them down.

Spot on comment Alex. I also listened to all 3 podcasts while driving, and got great value/fun as with all of Tim’s stuff. And yes, a few more links, Tim, as you do with the Random Show would be a great help! Thanks! John R.

Mostly enjoying the podcasts. Just wanted to add my twopenneth to the constructive criticisms:

1. Please save the wine for after you’ve finished recording. Drinking and chatting with friends is huge fun, listening to someone drinking and chatting with friends, not so much. ‘Relaxed and informal’ is perfect, but ‘drunk’ is just annoying.
2. Too long! I realise the whole point is that the format gives you the freedom to explore things over a longer period but anything over and hour or so is way too much. It’s your job to moderate the discussion in order to give it some structure (which is why staying sober is crucial!)
3. Looking forward to you having some women on to compensate for all the testosterone. I love to listen to interesting women.

Would be super helpful if you listed the books mentioned in the pod cast, similar to the “library” list you did after podcast 2. I’m not always able to take notes, and with a two hour long podcast (:-o) its hard to go back and find the titles you wanted to read but can’t remember.. 🙂
Thanks for a great show!

Thank you for doing this great podcast. Episode 2 was fantastic and Episode 3 only improved on that. This podcast has quickly vaulted to the top of my “must-listen” list and I’m telling everyone about it. I plan on re-listening to Eps 2 and 3 many times over and adopting many of the things you all talked about. I can only imagine how good future episodes will be as well.

This was the best one so far. Tons of good information. Is the Supple Leopard not available for kindle? Or am I missing it on Amazon?

I think the things that people are complaining about are ridiculous.The only thing I wasn’t crazy about was the audio in the second one. But it is what it is. It was still a good show. The cussing and drinking are fine. If you don’t like it don’t listen. You’ll be robbing yourself of a ton of good information.

Tim – You should try to get Dave Asprey on. I’ve listened to a couple of his and am not a big fan but I think the two of you together would be good.

I really enjoyed this podcast! One question that came up for me is how do I educate myself to perform a heart rate variability test? Briefly researching, I can find everything from promises of performing hrv testing through the camera of my phone, to apps requiring a chest strap with Bluetooth connection, to requiring additional hardware.

Are you willing and able to share how you perform this test, or perhaps where I could find reputable information?

Listening to this a second time. Some outstanding content and ideas, Kelly gets the prize for best one liners (loved “take the chairs away” idea to solve childhood obesity) and the interplay between the three of you had me laughing out loud in several places.

Early on there was talk of using intermittent fasting for reducing impact of travel – any resources you can recommend here?

Really enjoying the podcasts. The Ryan Holiday one is the best one so far in my opinion. It was a very well produced show and the content was incredible.

My only criticism is the wine drinking during the recording of some of the episodes. Specifically in episode 3 it seemed to deflate the quality of the show. While I am sure it makes the conversations even more fun to have, the alcohol clearly impacts the ability of the speakers negatively when they try to communicate their ideas clearly. The quality of episode 4 over episode 3 is a great example of what I mean. Episode 3 was still amazing, but it did suffered a bit.

Please take this criticism in the spirit in which it is offered, which is with peace and love.

Hi,
actually my first comment although i´m reading now for more than a year. @ Tim: love almost everything, resonate with most of the stuff!
Great Interview! This episode is acually my favorite, but Kevin and Josh are close behind. By the way, the alcohol doesn´t bother me either. There was a time, at least here in germany, when the hosts of the great shows at saturday night, in the public financed TV officially got drunk during the show…

Greetings
Thomas Hansen

PS:
I apologize for any misspelling, the activ use of the englisch language wasn´t often required since school.

Great Podcasts … I’ve been randomly watching them from Paris as a FFFF (French Follower Ferriss Fan !) Got to know about the Random Show Podcast and Kevin Rose thanks to this …Watching and Listening to you guys is just very inspiring … so much content. Thanks so much and please keep going !

Too be 20 years old and listen to this threesome is absolutely ear porn (hope i did not loose bet, NOBNOM) But what interested me the most where when you guys discussed the overall description of health, how to measure it and improve it. So if i cut too the question, what should I dive my head into, about learning this stuff and put my time and efforts to create these habits if I can call it to do so. And last but not least, what should i actually buy equipment wise, too measure, that are currently on the market, or in progress to be launched that you know of?

My favorite episode up till now. Listened to the shows in more or less reverse order (started with the Kevin Kelly episodes – also great. Just received my copy of the Cool Tools book). But this podcast is a bit hard to follow at some points. So I’m still waiting for a transcript. Any news on that? Last comment was from May.

Kelly Starrett said that sleeping on a hard bed drops a person into extension. Based on the discussion, I inferred that this can cause lower-back pain. Kelly recommended sleeping on a soft surface, which drops a person into flexion. What is the benefit of sleeping in flexion (doesn’t that cause the lumbar discs to push out of alignment)?

I’ve listened to almost every podcast now, been some great ones! Is it fair you get to have so much fun doing something you love? I just saw the comment from the guy complaining about the pouring of the wine, really? I thought it was hysterical when someone walked out of the room, took a leak came back and poured some wine. There was a sound I picked up at 1:38, 1:52 and 1:57? I heard that same sound in the Ryan Holiday interview? Anyway keep clinking the glasses, but more importantly keep feeding us (the average Man) this great information from a broad spectrum of very interesting people.

Hi, is there any update on the transcripts/notes? I listened to it in the car (twice 🙂 but in interest of road safety I didn’t write anything down. 😉 the podcasts and the questions about favourite books and rituals etc are super interesting. Keep them coming and thanks for providing such a great way to distribute thoughts of interesting people (including yourself).

Absolutely loved this episode. I’d like to find out more about checking recovery status and stress indicators. Blood glucose monitor is easy enough to get hold of and study up on what to look out for but what was the other thing you were talking about. Something that checks inflammation in the lungs? Or have I got that wrong?

I realize that this is way after the original podcast. In passing KStar mentioned that he processes saturated fats poorly so he needs to be lean paleo (less red meat/less bacon) and he takes NIacin. With 23andMe or FamilyFinder, you have access to your raw DNA markers and promethease will give general trends.

Does anybody know or could Tim ask KStar what the raw DNA marker he is referring to is for not being able to process sat fats well? They seem to be in this format rs…., with the resulting alleles that he has. That way other people (me as well) could see if they also need to go lean(er) paleo?

I love all Tim’s podcasts and still go back to these early episodes, even if no one is commenting anymore:-) Great conversation with very knowledgeable folks. One of the most interesting comments to me, that kind of slips by is when Kelly talks about his morning blood glucose being pre-diabetic even though he’s been eating like a monk, but because he’s returned from traveling, disrupted sleep and routine. Makes me ponder how our lifestyles and environmental stresses are contributing to high insulin, beyond just what we eat (which is obviously a huge factor not to be ignored).

How do the podcasts get better and better? Fascinated with the idea of self repair. I have and ‘older’ set of knees, wear and tear and don’t ski anymore because of that-my daughter,who is a cross fit athlete, gave me The Supple Leopard for a gift and I am thinking I may get back on the slopes….

I was really Interested in the testing done on Kelly’s wife to find out why she was getting the headaches. My wife is recently suffering from constant headaches and has seen her doctor and was diagnosed with vertigo. She’s been to see a physical therapist and a chiropractor. She’s changed her diet and it seems that nothing is really working. I’m trying to run down a possible solution. Thanks

Tim – How do you go about finding a Dr. that has an approach like Dr. Mager’s where he seems to cross the boundary between physician and exercise physiologist? I am looking to find a Dr. in my area (Buffalo) who can support my needs, not just a generalist that wants to get me out of the office quickly.